


and they were housemates!

by ScottishScurrie



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Bonding, Cuddling, Everyone dated MC at one point, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Attempted Suicide, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, LGBTQ Themes, Late Night Conversations, M/M, MC died btw, MC is only brought up once or twice, Mostly for Portia & Muriel But 👀, Musical References, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad Boi Hours :(, Screaming at 3AM, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Singing, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Things aren’t always haha funny, Things get pretty dark, Touch-Starved, Vines, Will get angsty sometimes, no magic, quite a lot of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25200790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScottishScurrie/pseuds/ScottishScurrie
Summary: All the Arcana love interests live together in an apartment, what will go wrong?
Relationships: Asra & Portia Devorak, Asra/Julian Devorak, Everyone & Everyone, Julian Devorak & Portia Devorak, Portia Devorak/Muriel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. The Mysterious Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise if anybody is OOC, I’ve only just gotten into the fandom so qwq if anybody has tips, please do share!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new housemate arrives and things don’t go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, everyone has been housemates for about 3 months with the exception of this new comer :)
> 
> Also the deals for the Devil will be implied as something else here! For example, instead of Asra having half a heart, he’d have some heart issues! 
> 
> This goes with everyone :)
> 
> Also, Instead of MC, I’ll just call them Dakota,,, because it would be odd to just call them MC in my opinion.

Everyone was sat down for breakfast, chatting and just talking about what they were going to do for the day. That was when Portia finally remembered something.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you guys, we’re getting a new housemate! He’s actually arriving today!” She said, smiling but... there was a mischievous glint in her eye.

Nadia raised a brow.

“Oh really? It’s on short notice then...” She said.

Portia nodded.

“Yeah... but he’s family!” Portia said, her smile forming into a grin.

Asra thought for a moment but before he could say anything, the door burst open. In the doorframe stood a tall, skinny figure. His face was obscured by a plague mask but Asra could recognise those auburn locks anywhere.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He said, unamused.

The figure took off his mask and Asra just sank further in his chair.

“Hello! I am Julian, your new housemate! I-“ His eyes floated around the room but when his eyes landed on Asra, he froze.

“A-Asra?” He said, surprised.

“I wish I wasn’t.”

“Hey, no need to be so bitter! It’s me, your favourite doctor!” Julian said, grinning widely.

“I’d prefer Lucio being a doctor than you.”

As if on command, Lucio strolled into the room.

“You call-“ He started before he spotted Julian, the boy he bullied back in high school...

“... Why is he here?” Julian asked, pointing to Lucio.

Portia shrugged.

“Showed us at our door begging to live with us.” She said, sipping her tea.

Lucio spluttered.

“That’s not true!” He protested.

Portia raised an eyebrow.

“Oh really? Then who did you come to after you got kicked out of your parents house for attempted murder?” She asked, a little too sweetly.

Julian blinked.

“Okay what the shit.” Julian said, sitting down on an empty chair next to Asra.

“You can’t speak, you had a bone collection!”

“I didn’t actually kill those animals. I just found their bones and re-constructed them! It also helps me with anatomy.” Julian explained, crossing his arms.

“Hmmm... Surprised you haven’t collected the bones of your parents.”

Julian blinked before his eyes narrowed.

“Soon I’ll be collecting your bones, you son of a bi-“

“Can you two please brawl somewhere else? I’m trying to eat here.” Asra said.

“To be fair, Lucio was being what people could refer to as a ‘bitch ass motherfucker’, though I do suppose most issues cannot be resolved with violence.” Nadia said, eyes narrowing.

Asra broke out in laughter at Nadia’s statement.

Lucio just look offended, placing a hand on his heart.

“Nadia! Do you think that lowly of me?”

Nadia nodded.

“Yes. You make me eat Cheerio’s because Portia told me they make your heart healthy.” 

Asra laughed even more at that.

“But I’m your boyfriend!”

“You _were_ boyfriend.”

“Yeah, because you left me for that... that person!”

“And I do not regret my decision in the slightest. They were the best partner, miles better than you!”

“I’m sorry but who the hell names themselves ‘Dakota’?!”

Julian blinked.

“I haven’t heard that name in a while..” He said, shaking his head.

Asra nodded.

“Yeah... Neither have I.”

Muriel just grimaced at the mention of the name.

Portia perked up.

“Dakota? Ooh, I haven’t seen them ages!” She said.

“How have you all heard of this person?!” Lucio said, looking at the various people at the table.

“I used to date them.” Everyone said, almost instantly. Everyone looked at each other, surprised. They all stayed silent until Julian broke the silence.

“Well this is awkward, ain’t it?” 

Asra nodded, getting up as he put his bowl in the sink.

“You can say that again. It’s just kinda weird thinking that we all dated the same person at one point?” Asra said.

Nadia nodded.

“They were a very loving person.”

Julian nodded in agreement.

“They actually made me feel loved for once.” Julian said.

Portia groaned.

“Julian! We talked about the self hatred!” 

“... I fell asleep during that.” 

“Oh my god.” Portia said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“... What actually happened to them?” Nadia asked, looking at the group.

Muriel grimaced even more and he got up before he walked to his room, closing the door rather loudly. Everyone blinked, surprised at the sudden... outburst? 

“... Who’s goin-“ 

Asra raised his hand.

“I’ll do it.” He said, walking to the brown, wooden door. He knocked on it.

“Hey, Muriel? You alright, buddy?”

“... They died.” Is all he said. Asra just blinked. He knew Muriel wanted his space though so he just dropped it. He walked back to the table.

He must’ve had a dark expression on his face because Julian raised a brow.

“You feeling alright, Asra?”

“... I don’t know? Muriel... Muriel told me they died? I... I didn’t ask anymore because you know how Muriel is...”

Julian’s eyes went wide.

“So that’s what they meant.” He said, staring blankly at the table.

Asra raised a brow, looking at Julian.

“What?”

Julian broke out of his daze.

“N-Nevermind... It doesn’t matter.” He said, getting up. He then took his belongings to an empty room and closed the door.

“... I’m sensing a theme about mysterious people and them getting up after saying something ominous.” Portia said.

Asra nodded.

“Yeah...”

Lucio looked at the table.

“Sooooooo...”

“Shut up for once, would you?” Nadia snapped, glaring at Lucio.

Lucio rolled his eyes and finished his breakfast. He dropped the plate into the sink, actually ending up smashing the plate. Instead of walking to his room like his angsty mysterious housemates, he walked out of the apartment.

Asra sighed and got up and went over to the sink and picked up the shattered plate and put the pieces in the trash.

“That’s the 4th plate this week! It’s only Wednesday!” 

“His record was 8 in a week though.” Portia pointed out.

Asra groaned.

“Please... don’t remind me.”

Nobody said anything for the rest of breakfast, just staring at their plates or bowls.


	2. Late Night Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asra is awoken by Julian screaming in the middle of the night. What he was screaming caught him off guard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHOO CHOO ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN! NEXT STOP IS ANGST CITY!
> 
> TW: This chapter talks about self harm and attempted suicide. Do not read if you aren’t comfortable with that! :) Please stay safe!!

It was pitch black outside, everyone was asleep... or that’s what Asra thought.

He was startled by music being blasted in the room next to his... Julian’s room.

He was sure it was Julian because he could hear him screaming the lyrics next door. Asra sighed. He wasn’t planning on sleeping... so now he was singing Bye Bye Bye by *NSYNC at... he didn’t even know what time it was with his old friend in high school who had a crush on him. How weirder can this situation get?

Songs went by in a flash, Asra was actually enjoying himself but... he knew something was wrong. Nobody just randomly starts blasting songs in the middle of night and sings along with them. After about 5 songs, he knew something was really up.

He got up and walked up to Julian’s room, knocking on the door.

Julian slowly got up and opened the door.

“I- Oh. It’s you, Asra. I... I thought it was Portia.” 

Asra rolled his eyes, chuckling softly.

“You are kinda blasting music. What’s up?”

Julian rubbed his neck... usually something he did when he was about to lie.

“Hm? N-Nothing is up!”

“... Stop lying to me, Julian.”

Julian sighed.

“Fiiine... It... It was a nightmare... That and the self hatred.” Julian said, not looking at Asra.

Asra frowned.

“Julian... You weren’t joking?” 

Julian shook his head.

“N-No. I... I’m trying to get better but... it’s hard? _They_ made it seem so easier loving me but... I just wish I could actually stand to look at myself in the mirror. It’s the least I could do... for them.”

Asra just frowned more.

“Can I come in?”

Julian blinked, surprised but he moved aside.

“Look, I know... I may have been harsh to you in the past. I regret that. I should’ve reacted better to you moving in. I... I’m just glad you’re alive, Julian. Just... Just please, stay with us? We can’t have another dead person...” Asra said, taking Julian’s hands in his as he looked in the other man’s eyes.

Julian looked away.

“I... I can’t promise anything.”

Asra’s eyes widened.

“... What?”

Julian froze finally looking back at Asra.

“I- I said I can’t promise anything. I’m a wreck, Asra... I do dumb shit sometimes and I don’t think about others... I’m selfish like that and I hurt people and I just... I’m a mess. I just know I don’t want people worrying after me because I... I’m not worth the worry. I’m not worth anything, really... I couldn’t save them and I certainly can’t save myself. I couldn’t in the past... Every time it’s always someone else... It’s never me who saves myself.” Julian said, looking down at Asra’s hands in his. Tears were forming in his eyes. This wasn’t any lie or show. There was no mask or charade, just... Julian.

Asra just stayed silent, sometimes opening his mouth, about to say something but he just closed it eventually. His eyes were widened even more.

“What do you mean by saving yourself?” He finally asked after many minutes of silence.

Julian sighed.

“Promise you won’t judge?”

“Julian, you’re scaring me...”

Julian chuckled and reached to tug his shirt sleeve up. Scars littered his skin, etched deeply into it... Some looked new, some were old and faded. They didn’t look like accidents.

Asra looked at Julian, speechless. He slowly wrapped his arms around the doctor, frowning.

“Julian... I’m so sorry.” He whispered.

“Don’t be. I made my decisions.”

“Please... Don’t do it again, for everyone but most importantly, yourself. You’d miss out on so much... Everyone would miss you. I... I would miss you.” Asra said, tracing the scars on Julian’s arm and wrist.

Julian’s breath hitched ever so slightly. 

“... Please don’t go.” Julian whispered, softly and gently.

Asra smiled.

“I won’t.” He said.

The two stayed silent again, just holding each other.

“C-Can... Can we c-cuddle? Y’know... like we u-used to.” Julian Asked, almost nervously.

Asra chuckled.

“Of course.”

The two shuffled to the bed and laid down. The moment they were comfortable, Julian relaxed immediately.

He was asleep within minutes.

Asra smiled and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off as well... Thankfully, no nightmares woke either of them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to make an entire ass playlist of songs that would be worthy of screaming at 3AM for this, so you’re welcome.
> 
> Asra: *tells Julian how much he’s loved by his friends and Portia*
> 
> Julian: heart eyes, motherfucker-


End file.
